Exposure to toxic chemical and biological agents (“CBAs”) is a growing concern to both military and civilian organizations alike. Areas of enhanced vulnerability include assemblies of persons, whether military or civilian, and/or environments where the risk of exposure to toxins is elevated. One such scenario includes military personnel assembled within one or more tents and/or portable shelters. Other such scenarios include research facilities, health care facilities, and other environments where there is a high risk of exposure to CBAs.
In order to mitigate the harmful effects of an exposure to CBAs, many military shelters are constructed from fabrics which include one or more polymeric materials exhibiting barrier properties to one or more toxic agents. Many of these fabrics comprise, for example, fluoropolymers such a polytetrafluoroethylene (“PTFE”). One such composite material comprises Teflon coated Kevlar. While such composites demonstrate acceptable barrier properties, these CBA barrier shelter fabrics are expensive and require multiple manufacturing operations to join various fabric segments. The high costs of materials in combination with high manufacturing costs limit the availability of such prior art fabrics for widespread use.
As a result, most real-world military shelters are not made from such fabrics. Rather, current shelters are formed using materials having inferior CBA resistance. For example, forces of the United States of America typically utilize a General Purpose Shelter Fabric (“GP Fabric”) manufactured from cloth coated with polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”). GP Fabric is relatively inexpensive and affords soldiers adequate protection against inclement weather including rain, snow, wind, and dust storms. Shelters made from GP Fabric, however, offer minimal CBA protection. Such prior art shelters require an additional M28 Saranex liner to impart acceptable CBA barrier properties. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, use of such liners adds to the overall weight, cost and complexity of the shelter.
Various situations also exist within the civilian realm where personnel may be exposed to pathogens. For example, health care and research personnel are often exposed to a variety of pathogens, both organic and non-organic. To protect against pathogens, these personnel often wear special garments constructed to provide a physical barrier to prevent pathogens from passing through the garment. For example, some prior art garments are constructed from fabrics having micropores that permit the fabric to breathe, but prevent the passage of liquid, such as blood, viruses, and other toxins. While these prior art fabrics provide protection against toxins penetrating the fabrics, the toxins contacting the fabric remain active and thereby continue to pose a threat.
In addition, toxins may contaminate various hard surfaces. For example, toxins commonly come into contact with the floors, walls and ceilings within a health care facility in addition to the surfaces of the various pieces of equipment present. While these surfaces are cleaned periodically, the toxins pose a threat during the time between cleanings.
Accordingly, it would be an advance in the state of the art to provide a coating composition that can be applied to both flexible and rigid surfaces that is capable of decontaminating CBAs upon contact with the coating.